By Florence Tan
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices slipped in early Asian trade on Monday after OPEC+ agreed to another large production hike in September.
Brent crude futures fell 43 cents, or 0.62%, to $69.24 a barrel by 2218 GMT while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $66.94 a barrel, down 39 cents, or 0.58%, after both contracts closed about $2 a barrel lower on Friday.
OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September, the latest in a series of accelerated output hikes to regain market share, as concerns mount over potential supply disruptions linked to Russia.
The move marks a full and early reversal of OPEC+’s largest tranche of output cuts, plus a separate increase in output for the United Arab Emirates amounting to about 2.5 million bpd, or about 2.4% of world demand.
In a statement following the meeting, OPEC+ cited a healthy economy and low stocks as reasons behind its decision.
“The actual increases since April have been smaller than the headline number and are primarily composed of barrels from Saudi Arabia and the UAE (United Arab Emirates),” RBC Capital Markets analyst Helima Croft said in a note.
“The bet that the market could absorb the additional barrels seems to have paid off for the holders of spare capacity this summer, with prices not that far off from pre-tariff Liberation Day levels.”
(Reporting by Florence TanEditing by Rod Nickel)
